Oct 7, 2015; Louisville, KY, USA; Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow (20) shoots against Orlando Magic center Dewayne Dedmon (3) during the second quarter at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome to a (somewhat) weekly grab bag of thoughts and observations from the past few days in the world of Miami Heat basketball and the NBA.
Really I’m the Plug
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Now, on to the grab baggin’.
There Will Be Justise
Alrighty Heat heads, Heat haters and everyone in between that may or may not be worrying about Justise Winslow. When you open up a bottle of fine wine, you don’t get worried when it doesn’t drink well before you let it breath, do you?
(Thinking.)
Okay, maybe you don’t relate to that. Uh, hm. I got it! You’re listening to a new Drake song, it starts off with some sort of recorded voice mail message. You don’t say “Hey! I don’t want to listen to voice mail messages!” and then turn it off. You know what’s coming. You know what to expect. You listen through it and, in the end, it’s a rewarding experience.
That’s what Justise Winslow’s summer has been. Maybe you were discouraged when he didn’t shoot well during summer league. Maybe it took him a while to put up the stat line you expected. Maybe you haven’t been on a second date in years because you give up on the girl when she won’t put out after the first time you go to dinner.
What we are looking for now is progress and flashes, not for a rookie–A ROOKIE–to be a consistent producer on a very competitive roster. See how I use the word producer and not contributor? Those are two different things. Winslow may not produce stat lines like his 12 points, 10 rebounds and three assists like he had against the Orlando Magic Tuesday, but he will contribute every game. Especially on the defensive end. But, against the Magic, we saw flashes of what Winslow can do on offense.
(Courtesy of NBA.com)
It was Wade-like, the way he got to the rim. It’s what everyone anticipated from him. Winslow will do things like this this season, just don’t expect him to do it every game. Don’t expect him to be one of the best players on a deep roster right away. Don’t expect him to produce, just expect him to contribute. Then, maybe, you’ll get that second date without getting slapped in the face by reality.
Where I Was Wrong
Apr 4, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Miami Heat forward James Ennis (32) looks for an open man during the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
A few weeks ago I predicted that James Ennis would not make the roster and that Corey Hawkins would get the 15th spot. I won’t bother linking to the story because I would rather not give you easy access to that comments section, but I’ll fess up that it happened.
It won’t happen.
Well, maybe half of that will happen. Ennis has gotten the short straw this preseason. Erik Spoelstra can’t find ways to consistently get him playing time. Not with Winslow, Josh Richardson, Gerald Green and Tyler Johnson all playing better. Ennis doesn’t have a spot in this rotation any more, and he may not have a spot on the team much longer. The Heat pushed back his guarantee deadline to give him one more chance, but he might need to make like a Napier and find another opportunity somewhere else.
Get Well Soon, Lamar Odom
Lamar Odom only played for the Heat for one season, but it seemed like much longer. He, at least, had a more important impact than someone who played with the team for just one season.
He, together with a rookie-model Dwyane Wade, took the Heat to the playoffs in 2003. That run set up the Heat for greater things. It’s a season whose ripples are still being felt to this day. Without that season, the Heat aren’t exciting for Shaquille O’Neal, the Heat don’t make the trade and win the title in 2006, they don’t win over the Wade-Chris Bosh-LeBron James trio in 2010 and they aren’t any good now. (I have no way to know how it would play out in this alternate reality, but there is a good chance the Heat are still trying to make Michael Beasley a thing in the NBA and Mario Chalmers is the team’s second-best player).
Odom meant a lot to this organization and, in addition to making an impact with fans, formed strong relationships with Wade and Udonis Haslem, who both took to social media Wednesday to wish Odom well. Odom, in case you haven’t heard, was found unconscious in a Nevada brothel. Odom has had an unbelievably tough run in life, and I wish him the best. Get well soon, Odom.